Cathay Pacific is strange (though not unique among Asian airlines, see also ‘Asiana’) in blocking many of the seats in their first class cabin.

With only 6 seats in their first class cabin on the 777 though that can be frustrating. It makes it tough to assign seats together (as if such a thing exists on this aircraft) when traveling together.

In addition, Cathay Pacific will only assign seats 6 months in advance on its website, through airline partners, or if you call the US call center.

But you can assign any seats you wish if you call Hong Kong. And they will do so more than 6 months in advance.

That’s useful for getting first class seats together, or getting your preferred first class seats.

It’s also useful as a business class passenger, because on a 777 offering first class (4 class 777, “77H”) what you want is the forward mini cabin — rows 11 and 12, and really row 11. (The middle seats if traveling as a couple, the window seats if traveling solo.)

It’s a little more complicated picking seats for first class.

I explained this back in September but having just walked through the process again I thought I’d share my experience, in part as catharsis because of the long telephone hold times involved.

Choosing first class seats on Cathay Pacific’s 777:

• Traveling together most passengers want seats 1A and 2A — these seats on the left hand side of the aircraft are ‘separated’ from the rest of the cabin, because seats 1D and 2D open towards the right window seats on the left hand side of the cabin.

• Some people like seats 1D and 1K, or even 2D and 2K, when traveling together because the seats open up towards each other.

• Of course first class on Cathay Pacific is not like on other airlines, there really are not ‘couples’ seats. Airlines that have 4 seats across often have 2 together in the middle, you can often put up dividers but these are couples seats. Cathay has the most separation between seats, even though they’re not suites with doors, and you cannot see your traveling companion when you’re both seated.

• You can, of course, dine together — the ottoman at each seat has its own seatbelt, so you can sit across from each other. The crew will install a table extender and you can have your meal as though dining in a restaurant.

• Flying solo I like seat 1A. It’s on the more secluded side of the aircraft (since there are 2 seats accessible from that aisle rather than 4). Some people prefer being farther back in the cabin, but I like looking forward and not even seeing that there are other seats, it gives me more of a sense of traveling in a world without any other passengers at all.

• It does mean that any passenger seated behind you will pass by you on their way to and from the lavatory. And you’re closer to the galley and crew, though I’ve never found either bothersome.

The ability to book seats more than 180 days out is valuable, because for award passengers the best time to grab Cathay first class space is in the earliest days of the schedule. Cathay does release award space on many flights when their schedules load. Of course they also release space close to departure, but by then many of the best seats are likely taken.

It’s frequently the case that award passengers will book early. And award passengers will book two seats. So prepare to call Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong (+852 2747-1888).

And prepare to wait on the phone, so be sure you’re using an inexpensive international dialing method like Skype.

---

You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!